Yemen

PricewaterhouseCoopers Mohamed Al Jaradi has been providing assurance and business advisory services to clients in Yemen since 2007.

As a member firm of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) global network, PwC Yemen’s professionals benefit from PwC’s global training and development standards and share the thinking, experience and solutions of more than 155,000 people in 153 countries to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice for its clients.

Yemen is the second most populous country in the Arabian peninsula with a population of 22 million (2007) and an annual growth rate of 3.5 percent. Yemen's nominal GDP in 2008 was estimated at $27 billion, which represents a growth rate of 4.8 percent with a per capita income of around $900.

Currently, Yemen has "Observer Status" within the World Trade Organization, and is moving strongly towards full membership. Yemen is expected to gain GCC accession by the year 2016.

Economic sectors

Oil and agriculture are the two main pillars of the Yemen economy. Oil accounts fro 85 percent of export earnings, and agriculture - depending on rainfall - constitutes around 20 percent of GDP and employs more than 50 percent of the economically active population.

Services, construction, industry and commerce account for less than one-quarter of the labour force.

Ninety-five percent of Yemen's industrial establishments are small-scale, with oil refining providing the largest contribution to output in the industrial sector and the remaining manufacturing sector confined to the production of consumer goods and construction materials.

Among registered businesses in the country, 65 percent operate in the trade sector, 20.7 percent in the service sector, and 14.3 percent work in production, of which around 30 percent is involved in agricultural production.

Among registered businesses in the country, 65 percent operate in the trade sector, 20.7 percent in the service sector, and 14.3 percent work in production, of which around 30 percent is involved in agricultural production.

With nearly 40 percent of the population living below the poverty line, Yemen faces severe development challenges.

Oil and gas production

Yemen is a small non-OPEC oil producer and relies heavily on foreign oil companies that have production-sharing agreements with the government.

Yemen had proven crude oil reserves of more than three billion barrels in 2007, down from four billion in 2006, and these reserves are not expected to last beyond 2020.

Furthermore, output from the country’s older fields is falling. According to statistics published by the US Energy Information Administration, crude oil output averaged 380,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2006, compared to 400,000 bbl/d in 2005. Crude oil output was projected to be 360,000 bbl/d in 2007 and to decrease to 350,000 bbl/d in 2008.

According to the Oil and Gas Journal, Yemen had 16.9 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves in 2007. Of this amount, 9 trillion cubic feet have been designated for the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by Yemen LNG Company Ltd (YLNG).

The YLNG plant is expected to deliver a total of 6.8 million tons of LNG per year; initial shipments are expected by early 2009, two-thirds for export to the United States and the remainder to Asia.